Bringin' it Backwards

We had the pleasure of interviewing Employed To Serve over Zoom video! Employed To Serve have released their brand new record, Conquering, out via Spinefarm. Drawing influence from the music of their youth and a new perspective on how to nurture the positive aspects of humanity and individual growth, Conquering is a celebration and acknowledgement of triumph in the face of a world that can be relentlessly adversarial. Employed to Serve began recording Conquering in the "unforgiving winter" of 2020. It was produced and mixed by Lewis Johns at The Ranch, Southampton and mastered by Grant Berry at Fader Mastering. ETS took the time thrown at them by a world stopped still to write their most visceral material to date. ABOUT EMPLOYED TO SERVE: Employe to Serve's origins are essentially humble, with the core duo of Justine Jones (vocals) and Sammy Urwin (guitar/vocals) initially starting the band as a two-piece grindcore project backed by a drum machine. Early experiences on the UK festival scene expanded their horizons and perceptions of what weightier music could be. Seeing heavy-hitters such as Converge, Meshuggah, and Glassjaw alongside smaller but no less important acts like Rolo Tomassi, Veils, and The Chariot inspired the duo to develop their vision. 2014's Change Nothing Regret Everything EP operated as a stepping stone into full band territory, before 2015's critically acclaimed debut album, Greyer Than You Remember, became their calling card, followed up two years later by The Warmth of a Dying Sun, then their 2019 Spinefarm debut Eternal Forward Motion. Employed to Serve have already proved themselves as a searingly intense and honest live experience, sharing bills with the cream of the crop of modern heavy music, including Code Orange, Bury Tomorrow, Stick To Your Guns, Loathe, Counterparts, and Underoath. They've also decimated stages at some of the UK and Europe's leading music festivals, the likes of Download, Glastonbury, Graspop, and Hellfest. And the accolades are unstoppable; from their Kerrang! Album of the Year win back in 2017, achieving the assumed impossible with a KKKKKK (yes, that is 6 K's!) live review, landing in Metal Hamme''s reader and staff Top 10 Album polls, and a 2020 sold-out Underworld performance, to a plethora of cover features across Music Week, Metro Weekend, Upset, and Kerrang!, Employed to Serve are unflinching at the forefront of metal innovation. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #ETS #EmployedToServe #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing Nathan Day over Zoom video! In a seaside town known for its 125-year-old amusement park, a boy dreamed of launching a band with a group of imaginary friends. Years later the Blackpool, UK native Nathan Day turns this dream into a reality by crafting his vision into otherworldly alternative pop. Energized by punk spirit and blessed with adventurous experimental magic, he manifests a sonic world inhabited by vibrant characters: an alien, a skeleton, a rabbit, a ghost. He adopts each character in both personality and costume for the respective tracks, representing mental illnesses he's coped with. After racking up millions of streams, the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer invites everyone to join him on the colorful journey to his debut solo EP, We Come In Pieces, out now. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #NathanDay #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing morgxn over Zoom video! morgxn shares an animated lyric video for his recently released single "DON'T THINK ABOUT IT;" "DON'T THINK ABOUT IT" was released last month. morgxn explains "There is so much pressure and attention on gender as if it's something new. It's not… why [has] gender become such a heated debate when we are debating something that is, at its core, deeply personal." The highly anticipated new EP from the Nashville-born and based artist, MERIDIAN: vol 2, will now be released on November 11 ERIDIAN: vol 1 was heavily inspired by a rollercoaster 24-hour period in which morgxn experienced some of his highest highs and lowest lows. Just as the world was going into lockdown due to the pandemic in March 2020, morgxn saw a lifechanging day in which Billie Eilish included morgxn's single "home" in a list of inspirations behind her Grammy-award winning track "bad guy." Nashville-born Morgan Isaac Karr, best known as morgxn, released his debut album vital in 2018 including the hit lead single "home" featuring Walk The Moon. The track was a Top 10 Alternative Radio hit, landing on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart and Billboard Rock Airplay Chart. He has toured extensively with the likes of X Ambassadors, Phoebe Ryan, miike snow, Skylar Grey and more, and has played festivals worldwide including Lollapalooza, Firefly and Hangout. morgxn will hit the road with Smallpools for a U.S. tour kicking off in November in support of the forthcoming MERIDIAN: vol 2. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #morgxn #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing Opus Orange over Zoom video! Santa Monica indie-rock collective Opus Orange recently released his new album Object Lessons, The recent single "Got it All Wrong" is accompanied by a mesmerizing music video shot by award-winning film & television director Ric Serena, which finds power in its simplicity. This is not the first time Serena and Opus Orange's Paul Bessenbacher worked together. Bessenbacher co-composed the soundtrack for Serena's hit feature-length documentary Mile...Mile & a Half while hiking 219 miles of the John Muir Trail in 25 days with the cast, and 2018's My Indiana Muse which took home awards from the NYC Independent Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, The Florida Film Festival, and the Prescott Film Festival. Never one to make the same record twice, Bessenbacher drew inspiration for Object Lessons from 90's indie-rock and enlisted mixing engineer Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, Sufjan Stevens, Modest Mouse) and mastering engineer Doug Van Sloun (Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit, Damien Jurado) to round out the LP. In addition, the classically trained musician's work as a producer and composer has been featured in films by Catherine Hardwicke and Brin Hill, TV shows Grey's Anatomy, Broad City, Younger, and The Detour, and in national ad campaigns with Google, Apple, and Samsung. For all up-to-date information on Opus Orange, stay tuned to: https://www.instagram.com/opusorange. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #OpusOrange #zoom #aspn #americansongwriter #americansongwriterpodcastnetwork Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing Alt Bloom over Zoom video! There is something intrinsically unique about multi-instrumentalist and lyricist Alt Bloom. With his seamless blend of alternative and timeless singer/songwriter pop, Alt Bloom has made himself known for crafting songs that encourage his listeners to escape; tracks that infuse dreamlike introspection paired with atmospheric melodies and, of course, Thompson's signature tongue-in-cheek wordplay. His music has been described as "smooth indie pop" and his songwriting as introspective, confessional storytelling. He's a lover of the outdoors and is becoming known for connecting his music with nature. Last year, he released a series of videos, called the California Sessions – shot in some of the most beautiful places across California and recently released and collaborated with National Geographic for their "Planet Possible" initiative to preserve the planet by releasing their new theme song for the initiative "I Believe". We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #AltBloom #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing Freindzone over Zoom video! Hayden Warzek & Jesse Woods, better known as Friendzone, have been creating quite a stir in the dance music scene as of late. Friendzone has set themselves apart from the herd by creating their own high energy, open format electronic sets. These two have let their fun-loving, care-free attitudes loose both on the stage and in their production. They share a passion for the finer things in life, such as: tequila, White Claw, beautiful people, and a good Henley. After making their mark in local clubs with well over 20 packed shows, the future appears bright for this young and thirsty duo as they build themselves in the dance music world... one White Claw at a time. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #Friendzone #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing Tai Verdes over Zoom video! Billboard chart-topping singer-songwriter, Tai Verdes, teamed up with acclaimed rapper 24kGoldn to record a reimagined, RnB version of his current smash single "A-O-K," from his debut album TV. The revamped track releases today via all digital and streaming platforms and comes on the heels of what has been a red-hot summer for the Los Angeles-based recording artist. To date, "A-O-K" has amassed 100M+ total streams since its May release, and is currently averaging 1M+ streams daily across all streaming platforms. The track also recently hit the 1M TikTok creations benchmark, and is currently charting top 20 at both Pop and Alternative radio, as well as top 40 at Hot AC. Following Verdes' debut broadcast performances on The Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, "A-O-K" was recently added to Spotify's Top Hits Playlist, Good Vibes (#7), Morning Stroll and Top Songs - USA; and is currently bringing in a new peak of 1M daily Spotify steams, crossing the 10M monthly listeners mark and landing at #474 in the world on Spotify. The track is currently at #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #168 on the Billboard Top 200, with TV album back to #1 Heatseekers Album. "A-O-K" has amassed 875K+ TikTok creations to-date. Verdes is currently on the road supporting Quinn XCII + Chelsea Cutler's tour; and later this fall, will perform at the All Things Go Festival in Columbia, MD, as well as, will continue supporting his debut album TV with a sold-out 14-date solo headline tour. The shows begin November 2nd in Houston, TX and will include stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and Toronto. For more info, please visit www.taiverdes.com/tour . We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #TaiVerdes #AOK #Sheesh! #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing Marko DeSantis of Sugarcult over Zoom video! In August 2001, SoCal rockers Sugarcult burst onto the scene with their anthemic debut album Start Static. Combining high-energy punk riffs and irresistible power-pop melodies with a heavy dose of youthful angst, Start Static quickly earned the group a legion of fans, and spawned three hit singles, "Bouncing Off the Walls," "Pretty Girl (The Way)," and "Stuck in America." Now, two decades later, Craft Recordings commemorates this enduring favorite with a deluxe 20th anniversary vinyl and digital reissue. Set for an October 8 street date and available for pre-order, the vinyl edition of Start Static (20th-Anniversary Edition) will feature the original album — newly remastered by the GRAMMY®-winning engineer, Paul Blakemore — plus three special bonus tracks: an early demo of "Say I'm Sorry," a live version of "Bouncing Off the Walls," plus a spirited cover of Elvis Costello & The Attraction's "No Action." The album comes housed in a gatefold jacket, featuring sculpted emboss printing and updated liner notes from the band. Fans can also find a special variant of the LP — pressed on clear vinyl and limited to 500 units — exclusively on Sugarcult's website and at Craft Recordings' online store. The digital edition, also available October 8, features an additional, previously unreleased live version of the band's hit single, "Stuck in America." and "Bouncing Off the Walls (Live)" Formed in Santa Barbara, CA, in 1998, Sugarcult — whose original lineup consisted of Tim Pagnotta (vocals/guitar), Airin Older (bass/vocals), Marko DeSantis (guitar), and Ben Davis (drums)— made their mark as one of the most dynamic and entertaining pop-punk bands to come out of the 2000s. After independently releasing two demos and two EPs, the quartet caught the ears of Ultimatum Music, who signed Sugarcult and connected them with producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More, The Replacements) to work on their debut full-length. Start Static went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, while the band embarked on nearly three years of non-stop touring. In addition to playing the main stage of Warped Tour and appearing at festivals like Glastonbury (UK), Summer Sonic (Japan), and Soundwaves (Australia), the group joined Green Day's American Idiot tour in the U.S. and Japan, as well as Blink 182's European arena tour. They would go on to headline hundreds of shows across North America, Europe, and Japan. Multiple songs off Start Static, meanwhile, could be heard on popular shows like MTV's Laguna Beach and in films like Van Wilder (the stars of which, Ryan Reynolds and Tara Reid, appeared in the music video for "Bouncing Off the Walls.)" In the liner notes, guitarist DeSantis recalls that Start Static "was our confrontation and/or handshake with the world; our chance to get people to pay attention, earn their respect, and then, hopefully, win their hearts. The album title fit the narrative of the songs—which are mostly vignettes of young adult anxiety over the trials of messy romance and post-adolescent dissatisfaction and uncertainty. [Start Static] was our album title and our mission statement." Following Start Static, Sugarcult went on to release two more acclaimed albums (2004's Palm Trees and Power Lines and 2006's Lights Out), and two DVDs before embarking on an extended hiatus in 2008. Since then, each band member has excelled in a variety of fields within the music industry. Tim Pagnotta is an award-winning, multi-platinum-selling songwriter and producer who has collaborated with the likes of Weezer, Blink 182, Neon Trees, Walk the Moon, and Elle King. Airin Older went on to become a founding member of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and joined British alt-rock group thenewno2, featuring Dhani Harrison. Marko DeSantis is now a professor of music business, artist development and artist coaching at Los Angeles College of Music, Musicians Institute College of Music and Citrus College. He has also enjoyed several DJ residencies in the U.S. and Japan and has been featured as a guest speaker and panelist at SXSW, UCLA, and Sonos LEAD, among others. Ben Davis, meanwhile, enjoys a successful career writing and producing music for film, TV and commercials. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #MarkoDeSantis #zoom #Sugarcult #StuckInAmerica #BouncingOffTheWalls #StartStatic #20Years #20thAnniversary #20YearAnniversary #TwentyYearAnniversary Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing John R. Miller over Zoom video! Emerging singer-songwriter and guitarist John R. Miller released his debut solo album Depreciated, July 16 on historic record label, Rounder Records! Depreciated blends a vast array of classic sounds from countrypolitan and swamp rock to the Tulsa sound, which attracted multiple Grammy nominee Justin Francis (Leon Bridges, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price) and renowned guitarist Adam Meisterhans to produce the album. Miller was signed after a moment of industry serendipity: another producer walked past the studio where Francis was mixing the album, and was so impressed with what he heard that he passed the music on to an A&R person for Concord. Miller began playing music as a young teenager in a tight-knit DIY scene in West Virginia. Miller's first band was a punk quartet he and his friends formed at 14 years old. They would rent out church halls and Ruritan clubs to put on shows since they were not old enough to perform in bars. Before long, he gravitated toward folk and country music, which ignited a burning desire to travel as a touring musician and eventually drove him to quit school. He busked with a string band to earn a living and traveled to D.C., New York, and Knoxville, and would pen his own songs in his downtime. He spent the next 15 years as a touring musician, both leading bands and playing as a side man and bass player for a litany of other songwriters including the Hackensaw Boys, Sierra Ferrell, and J.P. Harris. Depreciated takes us back to Miller's time growing up in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia and reflects on his relationship with his childhood home and the way things diminish over time, whether they be the car he drove off the lot, or the relationships he left behind. Depreciated was recorded at the legendary Studio A of Sound Emporium in Nashville. Miller was ably backed on the sessions by Meisterhans, who contributed guitar and production; co-producer Francis on congas and Wurlitzer, Chloe Edmonstone offering a plaintive fiddle, John Looney on mandolin, Jonathan Beam providing bass, Russ Pahl's shimmery pedal steel, John Clay on drums, and Robbie Crowell playing the Wurlie and Hammond B3. We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #JohnRMiller #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/

We had the pleasure of interviewing SZNS over Zoom video! Los Angeles based pop-quartet SZNS premiered the music video for new single "Build A Boy" recently with People Magazine. Now SZNS are following up with the TV debut of the music video for "Build A Boy" with MTV's Spankin' Brand New. SZNS give a fresh take on the classic 90's girl group music we all know and love with blending elements EDM, Latin-synth, and House inspired beats. The single was written by SZNS along with Stefan Litrownik (One Direction, Boyz II Men) and Jason Hahs, with production by K-Kov & Stefan Lit . Each member Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn bring their own unique vocals and styles that blend together to create the vibrant SZNS sound. Their conversational lyricism stems from the four's collaborative writing style - a late night kitchen heart-to-heart. Their relatable and empowering tracks call to not only girls and women, but anyone regardless of their gender, race or sexual origination that might be feeling pressured into submission to address and disrupt the status quo. Now following the successful release of "Build A Boy," that included a billboard in Time Square, SZNS is ready to hit the road to bring their live performance to fans across the US. When asked about their new single "Build A Boy" SZNS's said, "When we came together to write Build a Boy, the energy in the studio was a bit different from our usual confident selves. We were all feeling very vulnerable and even a little lonely. Each of us has experienced a relationship that wasn't fulfilling us mentally, physically and/or spiritually. Build a Boy is our way of saying I deserve more than the bare minimum & I have to do what's best for me. We realized some people are only in your life for a reason or a season and if you want the perfect partner, you have to find that within yourself first, because you can't Build a Boy." In order to better understand SZNS, one must first understand the unique personalities of each member Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn and how their names uniquely play into seasons they represent. Winter for instance is your shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, and your biggest advocate, someone who is there for you during those tough times. All Spring wants in life is to connect and heal people through her music, using her talents to help others grow through her art similar to how the showers of April bring help to bring the beautiful flowers of May. Autumn on the other hand is troublemaker of the group, some might see her tough exterior but those closest to her in SZNS know she's a real softie, you may find her out on town on Friday night but you have just a good chance of finding her curled up on the couch watching NetFlix. While Summer is known for being the bubbliest of the group, and can be found dancing everywhere she goes bringing her energy that turns even your darkest times to a bright sunny day. Together these four personalities come together to create the fresh high energy sound of SZNS. With this in mind SZNS are getting ready to release a series of four EP's each specifically crafted for each member/season, emanating power, vulnerability, wit, and reality ranging from bass dropping dance beats to sultry ballads! We want to hear from you! Please email [email protected]. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #SZNS #BuildABoy #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/